Wolf Star
by Wildtail of Wind
Summary: After getting separated from his family, the wolf pup Nova fights to survive in a harsh, unfamiliar world thick with mystery. No longer protected from the truth, he is forced to uncover the history of his lineage while trying to discover what it is to live among the twisted reality of society. (This is an original take on the series also inspired by Wings of Fire and Warriors.)
1. Prologue: Riding the Storm

Prologue: Riding the Storm

"Nova! NOVA! Where ARE YOU?" howled the desperate shrieks of my family, buffeted by the roar of the rain.

Water splashed in my eyes, in my ears and muzzle, choking me while I fought the unforgiving flow of the river. I paddled as hard as I could but made no progress against the powerful current washing me downstream.

_No — no, please! No . . ._

Without any better ideas in sight, I flung my paws around the smooth surface of a log floating by me. My tears mingled with the rain and I hung there, letting it carry me along.

With the fading of my family's voices went the storm. Morosely, I rested my head on the wet wood while I bobbed along the lazy stream. There was no way I could find my way back home after exhausting myself.

_I need to get . . . out . . . of here. Follow the stream up after . . . a rest. _A yawn caught my mouth open, an unexpected spray of water causing me to reel backwards, gasping. It burned my throat. I felt like I was struggling all over again, fighting to no avail. It was a miracle I didn't drop off the log entirely. _What the — what's WRONG with this place?_

The calm was a lie. A LIE.

The morning sun blared into my eyes, bright as my heart felt dark. I squinted, glancing around. The harsh edges of the land seemed less steep now, more manageable if I had any energy . . . Maybe there was a familiar landmark? Unlikely, but . . .

To my right was a large forest, and on my left was the rocky beach, and past that I knew was the endless ocean. It was a good thing I wasn't lost in the ocean, at least. That. Now that. That would be _awful_.

But the current really was making me feel sick. Like, I just wanted to get free of the constant rocking and rolling of my unlucky ship. The soft push of the river became more of a shove. _I guess it gave up acting friendly . . ._

_Oh. _

_OH NO IS THAT WHAT I THINK IT IS?_

I blinked, but the white at the end of the line of green was _not _my imagination. And that sounded like a _lot_ of water falling. And falling _fast_.

"T-that IS A _WATERFALL _oh my — AHH!"

Quickly, _really super quickly_, I let go of my log and used up the last of my energy to desperately reach for the rock-covered bank to my left. My claws tore through layers of slimy algae, slipping past it like . . . _WELL WHO CARES WHAT IT'S LIKE? I'M SLIPPING!_

Spinning rear-first, I lost all control of where I was facing, caught in a horrible dance with the swift water. The log decided to say its goodbyes by smacking me in the side three times before the breath was knocked out of my chest. It was a bad dance. I _hated_ this dance.

I wildly flailed my limbs, but with no luck.

_Stars, help me._

I plummeted down the falls.


	2. Chapter 1: A Pool of Sunshine

**Chapter 1: A Pool of Sunshine**

Perhaps I would have enjoyed the thrill of riding down a waterfall if it weren't for that ride stealing me from my family, me getting partially smashed by a log on one side and smacked by the lake's surface on the other, or having my nose fall dead-center into an anthill upon swimming to solid ground, _of ALL THINGS_.

Yelping, I jumped up with the force of a wolf about to collapse right into that very anthill, shaking off most of the clinging fire-ants. I retreated back into the water, dunking my snout into it, hoping to drown the stragglers.

_I did not sign up for this. I didn't. All I wanted was to catch a fish with my sister. Why did this have to go so wrong?_

The fiery sensation left behind by the bugs cooled off unusually well. When I surfaced, I felt . . . well. I didn't feel exhausted anymore?

"Huh?" I turned around, looking at the falls, the clear, clean blue sparkling of the water, the mist spraying at the base of the waterfall, the sort of lively glow that surrounded the place. I wasn't sure why, but it seemed like the lake was blessed by the spirits, full of energy and rejuvenation.

_Who knew that crazy stream would lead here? It seems . . . peaceful._

I took a few more steps into the water, fully turned towards the lake. I wanted to . . . just swim right into it. I wanted to swim forever.

"You know . . ." I murmured while water washed over my chest, covered my chin, the edges of my lips, "it'd be nice to live here . . . with . . . e-ever-everyo—"

"No! Get back!" a strange, high-pitched cry startled out from behind. "What are you doing? I said get back!"

I ignored her, the top of my head disappearing into the lake. It was fine. I could breathe underwater, right? Every wolf could.

A violent tug on the skin of my neck pulled me out of the water, my lungs screaming as soon as air was introduced back into them. I hissed and gasped, body going limp with the motherly grasp on my scruff.

Her teeth dropped me gently on the ground a ways away, but I could see the anger creasing her face. She was a darkly colored wolf, her fur nearly black unlike my gray fur, with a few scars lining the tips of her ears and pelt. Her eyes were a light yellow, almost pretty if not for the suspicion boring into me. This was a wolf different from any I have ever seen.

I haven't seen any wolves apart from my family . . . but she gave off a vibe that I couldn't understand, like how I imagined lions in the stories. Fierce. Something no one really knew until it bit them.

"Uh . . . um, thank you?"

"You're a pup," the stranger growled. "What's a pup doing here without his mother?"

"Er . . . she . . ." I began, but her poised haunches and tail made me stop. _Can I dare to trust her?_

"She what?"

_This wolf saved my life. Why am I hesitating? Maybe she can help me get home. And . . . I don't really want to find out what might happen if I lie to her._ "I fell in. The river. During the storm. She was . . . separated from me."

The midnight she-wolf grunted. "Fell in, huh. You stink of river fish."

_My stars, thank you. Great welcome. _I sniffed, feeling smaller in my skin. No level of sarcasm would get my dread to go away. In fact, I was _pretty_ sure she had heard my inner retort and was about to snap my ears of in repayment. I'd believe it.

"Alright. Runt, do you know who I am?"

"N-no . . .?"

Her eyes narrowed. She smiled without amusement, revealing her long, sharp fangs. "Do you know where you are?"

"No . . . Somewhere downstream."

"Aren't you just the brightest of the bunch." Her head tilted towards the falls, though her body blocked my view of it. "Hypno Falls, home of Fernshroud's greatest curse. Those that taste its waters are compelled to drown here. There's an underwater pit here. Once you dive into it, there's no coming out."

My paws were shaking. "What?" _A curse? They're real?_ I thought curses were just stories, not _real_. Not something I would ever have to face. "Am I going to drown now?"

"Only if I let you. As long as you don't look at it until the next full moon, you won't be tempted."

"What about the river? I came from the river and I was fine —"

"It's not the water. It's this lake. But I'm not about to tell you anything else about it," she said, nudging me to stand. Oh. I had been sitting.

_I'm so scared. Mom . . . Dad . . . Moonlight . . . I'm sorry. I never should have went out last night . . ._

"You're lucky I was on patrol. Otherwise you'd really be a stinking fish."

I shivered. "W-what am I gonna do? I have to go home . . ."

"Come with me."

I flinched, swiveling away from the falls just in time. The pack wolf had moved around me, walking pointedly through the pine forest. The trees were so _big_, so dark, with needles that poked every which way and a buzz of life and energy pulsing within it.

The leaves and dirt crunched and crumbled beneath my feet. A scent I've never smelled before engulfed me, of something spicy and crisp yet filled with an underlying muskiness. There were bugs here, birds, squirrels, all sorts of wonders that I'd heard about peeking past the branches or hiding in the bushes.

We traveled quite a ways, past a set of tracks that looked too big to be a rabbit's, past a giant pine tree that dumped a pine cone on my head, and soon her pace slowed. I realized that my refreshed exhaustion had worn off partway through the journey, as I was panting by the time she stopped.

A large clearing spanned out in front of us, dens dug into the sides of a slope, rocks and plants protecting them from rain. Wolves were lounging about, chewing on prey, playing under the shadows, lapping water from a pool in the center of camp, staring, yes, and lots of staring.

Wolves wouldn't eat other wolves, right?

An old wolf grinned horribly at me, licking his chops. _RIGHT?_

"U-uh, w-where—?"

"Welcome to the Fernshroud pack, little one," my escort said proudly. "You'll be staying here until you're grown. Unless someone decides to come and get you. I can't wait to meet them."

She ducked into one of the dens. I was quick to follow. I didn't want to find out who was the hungriest and I especially didn't want to try running.

It was dim inside, just like the dens back at the beach. I tumbled accidentally down into another wolf's bed, feeling the soft pelt of someone else pressing against me. She smelled like a mother, like milk and dust and the herbs of the forest.

"Oop! Careful there," another voice said — that mother, and upon lifting my gaze I saw kind amber eyes. "Who are you?"

"M-my name is . . . Nova," I said uneasily, tiredly, feeling the prickle of oily tears at the back of my eyes. "A storm blew me into the river and I came here. I-I want to go home!"

The new wolf glanced up. "Slice?"

Slice, the midnight wolf, radiated control. Her words were cold, demanding. "Sprinkle, I want him to stay here with you. Your pups died but you still have milk. Consider this a consolation."

I hissed in a breath. Sprinkle waited a moment before responding. "He . . . doesn't smell like he's from here. What if he's from another pack? Aren't you . . . concerned?"

"Not in the least," she said. "My guess is that he's a Lonetrav's stray. A rouge's _unfortunate_ babe." I started to hate her smiles.

Sprinkle tucked me under the fluff of her chest, looking wistfully past a point over Slice's shoulder. "When he grows, don't hurt him, Slice. Please don't hurt him. He doesn't deserve that. His mother —"

A horrifyingly loud bark reverberated in the small cave. Terror rippled through my bones, caused me to tuck myself into the smallest ball possible. Sprinkle went stiff and quiet.

"Don't forget who's alpha here," Slice growled, flexing her claws in the dirt. "I won't tolerate trespassers. No matter how much of a runt he is, he'll be treated like everyone else. I'm going to find out where he came from. _Then _I'll decide what to do with his filthy pelt."


	3. Chapter 2: Fernshroud Problems

**Chapter 2: Fernshroud Problems**

I felt the comforting strokes of a mother's tongue lapping against my pelt. Sprinkle had a way of dragging me into the illusion of peace, let me believe for a moment that maybe I was okay.

I growled softly, reminded of where I was. For what felt like moons I'd been confined to the den, unable to leave for more than a few instances to relieve myself or take a quick stretch. Sprinkle was nice, but she wasn't my family. And I couldn't help but feel like a prisoner.

Sometimes the other pups would pop in to look at me, and a few of them would ask to play, but otherwise I haven't lost the sense of being an outcast. I brooded silently about that until I noticed a shadow cross over the entrance.

"Nova," Sprinkle said quietly, retracting in her nest. "It's Slice."

"I know." _She smells like death._

I got up slowly, peeking through the entrance. Slice seemed to be waiting for me, so I stepped outside.

_What do you want?_ I didn't dare say it out loud.

Her pale yellow eyes were smiling down at me. "You're about the age pups leave their dens."

I lifted my head. "So I can go home?"

"There's someone I'd like you to meet first."

Slice turned, leading me through the camp. I followed reluctantly. I didn't trust her. Whoever she had to show me couldn't be good. But . . . there was no way I could outrun her or the rest of the pack. _I have to get back to my family._

A couple of the other wolves were staring at us as we passed. I couldn't tell what they were thinking except they each bowed slightly when Slice came by. Their respect was littered with fear.

We entered the forest, ducking under the dappled cover of trees. It was dark as night underneath the thick branches, smelling damp with rain and mildew. Mud stuck between the crevices of my paws, my claws scratching deep marks into the ground.

_Yeesh._ I wrinkled my snout. _Slice really stinks like death._

I resisted the urge to ask where we were going, instead waiting until the moment we reached what appeared to be a short cliff face bordering a sinkhole in the ground where a huge tree had been uprooted. The darkness was unimpeded, broken by a couple strands of light. I could hear no stream here, no signs of life from the camp. It reeked with decay.

"You said someone . . ."

"I did. His name is Fang," Slice answered, suddenly coming up behind me. Terror consumed my reflexes. She shoved me over the ledge so forcefully, so without warning, that I didn't realize what had happened until I hit the ground.

The smell was so bad I teared up, choking. I groaned.

It groaned.

_Wait, what?_ Peering through the dim, I recognized the source of the odor to be a large, ragged heap on the ground. Portions of fur were ripped apart around it, scattered across the dirt. Bones, blood, and bits of flesh mingled with the scent of disease.

The heap rumbled, shaking, rising onto its forelegs. His eyes opened, bloodshot. Bubbling drool dripped from his snarling set of fangs.

I had to run. There was no choice.

I knew what this was. _Rabies._ It was a disease no one could escape. Once bitten, the sickness traveled to the soul, damaging a wolf's ability to recognize others, their sense of being. They became violent, uncontrollable, unstoppable. Worst of all . . . they didn't live very long.

"Oh, don't bother running!" Slice called loftily, chuckling with a breathy evil. "Fang wanted to see you most of all, you know! You wouldn't be wise to disappoint him."

As if on cue, Fang lunged forwards, his body flailing at unnatural angles. I yelped, staggering backwards. My back hit the cliff wall, plant roots catching at my fur. They dug into my skin.

Fang crashed into the side of the cliff too, folding over himself. He howled — an agonizing, ear-splitting cry.

"COME BACK TO ME!" he screeched, tearing at the rocks, his own tail as it fell over his muzzle. "DON'T _LEAVE ME HERE_! I HATE YOU! I _HATE_ YOU!"

I stood frozen to the spot. This wolf . . . he was not only sick, but something was seriously wrong with him. _His legs. Oh stars._

Fang's hind legs were completely broken, dangling behind him like a snake attached to its prey. They must have been broken for a while, because they were rotting horribly. A few flies flocked to the parts of him that his hair couldn't cover, though they were shaken off with his every floundering motion.

Slice leaned over the ledge to grin at us, revealing rows of glinting teeth. "Such a touching reunion."

"N-no . . ." My voice caught in my throat. I found myself shrinking, tearing up to the point where I was relying on my ears to catch the _sshf, shhff, kkkhhsshff _of Fang dragging himself closer. "No . . . M-mother . . . no . . .! Moonlight! Father! No!"

"DON'T LEAVE!" Fang yelled, clawing impulsively towards me. His dribbling jaws clamped down multiple times in my direction.

"N-no! _No!_" I flung myself back, tumbling to the base of the fallen tree. The shadows wobbled in the evening light. I scrambled for purchase, wildly gripping at the bark. _I just have to climb it!_

I felt my feet leave the ground the second Fang impacted with the wood, smashing splinters into the air. _Aagh! _My stomach dropped, the world shaking.

I was going to fall.

Fang was going to bite me.

I would never see my family again.

"P-please . . .! _Please_, no . . ." I didn't know how much further I could climb. But I made my limbs move, pulling myself up. Up. Away.

The sky appeared above me. I clung to that, doing my best to ignore the angry howls below.

Finally, it seemed the tree jutted over the rest of the forest, no longer in the ditch. The setting sun cast warm swatches of color across the branches and leaves in the distance. Glancing down, I could see Fang lose sight of me, writhing in a sad pit of mud and animal remains.

"Nova! Where do you think you're off to?"

Slice had circled the pit, approaching the area where the dead tree leveled out with the rest of the forest. I had to hurry.

If I was going to survive, I had to hurry.

The ground approached me at a dizzying speed. I crumpled on the grass, gagging as the air left my chest. _Move. Move._

I gathered my composure and pelted in the direction opposite the Fernshroud camp. My lungs and muscles burned. I could hear Slice's heavy paws pounding behind me.

I whipped between trees, under bushes, through clumps of nettle that stung my wounds. She would know this area, every crack, every turn. She could call the rest of the wolves running. I would have no chance.

_I c-can't run much more . . .! S-stars . . .! Please help me!_

I was getting lost. The landscape began repeating itself. Slice was much closer than I would have liked.

"N-no . . ." I whispered, puffing. My tail slid between my legs. _No . . . Where am I?_

That was when I heard the water.

The river, the ocean, the far off crashing of waves. Was it a sign?

_No._ It was real.

I could see the ground become rocky up ahead. I used an unexpected burst of energy to dash towards it, leaping into the stream. The water hit me — cold, powerful, an escape.

The current dragged me towards the falls once more, quickly losing my trail. All I would have to do is find a place to get out of the water where Slice couldn't see.

I heard her scream my name a moment later somewhere upstream, having followed my scent. I took the opportunity to beat a path across to the other side, forcing my bogged fur up onto the sandy shore.

This side of the river didn't have many places to hide, but hopefully Slice wouldn't be able to track me here. She was probably smart enough to figure out I used the current to run from her. But she probably underestimated me, too.

There was a large rock sitting beneath a pine tree to the left of me. I bolted towards it, kicking up sand so harshly that my tracks were scattered away. At the base of the rock, I started digging furiously.

Slice could be heard bursting a path in the forest towards me, howling, screeching my name and commands for her pack. More howls echoed in the forest.

I dug faster, disappearing into the dampness of the sandy hole. I tried to cover myself up the best I could from inside, shrouding my vision in near complete darkness. The tree's roots pressed into my hind legs, but I held my breath, waiting.

The commotion outside grew louder, more chaotic. My heart beat relentlessly from exhaustion and fear. _Please . . . Stars, please. Please let me live._

I breathed in slowly. The howls were starting to fade, concentrating in the direction of the waterfall. It wouldn't be safe to stay in my hole for the night, but if I left there was a chance I would be spotted.

I waited only a few more breaths longer, daring to take my chances. With a shove, I broke free of the hole.

No one was around me. _Good._

And just like that, I took off.


End file.
